Pane e Latte

When Matteo Giordano was growing up, his grandmother never threw out stale focaccia. Instead she soaked it in tomatoes and added some basil and olive oil to make pappa al pomodoro.

When he opened Pane e Latte in late 2016, the traditional dish found its way onto the menu, updated with fresh bread, charcoal cracker and soft-poached egg.

The cafe is a paean to his upbringing in Gioia del Colle, a small town in southern Italy. Black-and-white family photographs adorn the walls. Simple stoneware plates and Formica tables were sourced from op shops and auctions to mimic the kitchens he grew up in.

From the oven come filled pastries such as calzone and panzerotti. Brunch standards also make it onto the menu. Smashed avocado gets a slight tweak with focaccia and buffalo ricotta, and the granola bowl is topped with honey mascarpone.

Giordano makes the bombolone in-house, before filling them with jam, Nutella or crema pasticerra (Italian custard). Coffees are dispensed from a gleaming Rocket Espresso Milano machine.